Coimbatore : Bringing to justice a man who was responsible for the death of a wild elephant by electrocution in a patta land near Periyanaickenpalayam Range, the Judicial Magistrate Court of Coimbatore convicted him and sentenced him for two years rigorous imprisonment and awarded a fine of Rs. 5000 after almost ten years since the incident happened.
Coimbatore : Bringing to justice a man who was responsible for the death of a wild elephant by electrocution in a patta land near Periyanaickenpalayam Range, the Judicial Magistrate Court of Coimbatore convicted him and sentenced him for two years rigorous imprisonment and awarded a fine of Rs. 5000 after almost ten years since the incident happened.
Lauding the efforts taken by the Coimbatore Forest Department in the collection of evidences and presentation of reports, the court had also appreciated them for taking the effort to bring the man to justice.
The incident occurred on the 3rd March of 2009 when a tusker was electrocuted in a farmland belonging to K. Raju in Naickenpalayam. The farmer was immediately booked under Wildlife Protection Act and was remanded in custody. The trial ran in the court for almost five years and the man was convicted by the court in 2014 for three years imprisonment.
However, he filed an appeal and the court had ordered to conduct re-trial, the judgement for which was read yesterday by the Judicial Magistrate.
The court accepted the earlier judgment and imprisoned the man for two years and Rs. 5000 as fine. He should stay in prison for an additional two months if he fails to pay the given fine.
Welcoming the verdict, wildlife enthusiasts and nature organisations are appreciating the Forest Department for their best efforts. "Such verdicts would curb electrocutions in the future," they said.